Firefox 17 crashes when automation testing is run. But works properly in Firefox 10. It opens many tabs while running and it crosses 50.

Question

Hi,
When we run automation testing of our product, it works well in firefox old versions and IE. But when we run it in firefox 17 it crashes. We noticed that in firefox 10, each task in automation was opened in new windows and ran smoothly. But in firefox 17, each task opens in new tab and the number of tabs opened crosses 50 and finally crashes. We tried with various troubleshooting methods discussed in your blog. But no help.
What is the change in firefox 17 that it makes each task opened in new tabs?
Or what is the setting we need to set so that each task opens in new window?
We have hundreds of test cases.
This bug is a blocker for certification of firefox 17 for our product.
Thanks

Answer 1

Hello,
Try disabling graphics hardware acceleration. Since this feature was added to Firefox, it has gradually improved, but there still are a few glitches.
You might need to restart Firefox in order for this to take effect, so save all work first (e.g., mail you are composing, online documents you're editing, etc.).
Then perform these steps:
*Click the orange Firefox button at the top left, then select the "Options" button, or, if there is no Firefox button at the top, go to Tools > Options.
*In the Firefox options window click the ''Advanced'' tab, then select "General".
*In the settings list, you should find the ''Use hardware acceleration when available'' checkbox. Uncheck this checkbox.
*Now, restart Firefox and see if the problems persist.
Additionally, please check for updates for your graphics driver by following the steps mentioned in the following Knowledge base articles:
* [[Troubleshoot extensions, themes and hardware acceleration issues to solve common Firefox problems]]
* [[Upgrade your graphics drivers to use hardware acceleration and WebGL]]
Did this fix your problems? Please report back to us!
Thank you.